The far-right groups stood across the street and laughed as they watched police deploy explosive devices on their adversaries.Portland police deploy pepper balls at antifascist protesters. (Sam Gehrke)

In the latest episode of a familiar, violent dance, Portland police deployed explosive devices and chemical irritants at antifascist protesters who arrived on the waterfront to confront right-wing marchers.

The far-right groups, led by U.S. Senate candidate Joey Gibson and a men's fraternity called the Proud Boys, stood across the street and laughed as they watched police deploy "flash-bangs" on their adversaries.

Antifascists scrambled for cover near the waterfront Marriott as riot police followed them, shooting off crowd-control devices like pepper balls at the retreating protesters. Someone knocked over a port-a-potty in the chaos, as smoke clouded the streets.

Today, police told the left-wing crowd to disperse because they said left-wing and antifascist protesters threw projectiles at them. It's hard to know with certainty what triggered the police use of force: Today's antifascist crowd numbers in the thousands.

Meanwhile, Gibson's group proceeded unmolested out of Tom McCall Waterfront Park and into Portland streets. Police gave them a stern lecture and ordered them back into the park.